We are back with another #bangin upcoming artist to introduce to our readers and this time it’s South America’s latest exports, the dynamic duo who call themselves HIIO!

HIIO are touted as one of  the best new elements of house. An exhilarating collaborative partnership of South America’s two most exciting and talented DJ/producers – Argentina’s Nico Hamuy and Colombia’s Ortzy. Studio based full time in Buenos Aires, HIIO are already letting loose with their engaging, full throttle & emotive progressive house rockets.

 

Their brilliant inaugural release took-off in mid 2012 with a heart-starting remix of Chuckie’s ‘Who Is Ready To Jump’ and continue to work with him on new projects. ‘Lose Control’ also hit it big and with the support of Roger Sanchez amongst other major players in the international scene.

Ortzy is Colombian born and raised. Nico Hamuy has called Buenos Aires home his whole life. However as Buenos Aires is fast becoming a mecca of music, it’s no wonder in late 2011 Ortzy relocated and now works full time in the studio on their collaborative partnership – HIIO.

 

Ortzy says ‘ I really felt the need to step out of the spotlight and focus on the essence of what Nico and I are trying to do with HIIO. Buenos Aires is the place for this. It’s fresh, it’s new, it’s one of those inspirational places where the music just flows out of your head. It’s me now. It’s HIIO.’

Nico reflects a sentiment shared by most South American artists saying, “People who aren’t from here, don’t really gauge just how difficult it is for South American’s to break and make it internationally. It’s literally a jungle down here and we’re just happy that both Ortzy and I are already getting some global recognition. It’s what drives us to work hard, get to the parties and make people go crazy for our music.”

 

Nico Hamuy and Ortzy are already stand-alone internationally-recognized artists. Between them, they have more than 20 tracks in the Beatport Top 100 and are regularly on tour with David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, Erick Morillo, Tiesto and the list goes on. When they’re not in the studio they’re on the road with shows that span across the United States and through all South America. With residencies at the most prestigious clubs in the South East America – Madame in Punta Del Este and Crobar Buenos Aires to name a few, it’s fair to say both these guns already show the fire that’s putting them in the international spotlight.

All in all the new South American powerhouse HIIO are grabbing the attention of the international dance community at the speed of sound.

Here are a few #bangin tracks by HIIO which you could check out:

and their latest and most recently released track!

We also caught up with the duo for an interview. So skip ahead and read on to know more about these immensely talented, future stars from South America! 

Hey Nico And Ortzy! Welcome to Bangin Beats (thebanginbeats.com)

Q). To begin with, tell us how did the two of you meet and decide to start producing music together? 

Nico: Well, I used to go to Colombia to play shows, and a mutual friend out in California, where Ortzy used to live, introduced Ortzy and I. We became friends and decided to do a track together. We loved that track, and it is something very special for the both of us. It will actually be out this week, January 17, 2013. After we made that track, we made another one, and then we played some gigs together and finally decided to create a project together, now called HIIO.

Q). Recently the two of you had back-to-back collaborations with an internationally acclaimed producer like Chuckie. How was the experience of being in the studio with a talent like him? Does it also provide a basis for improving your knowledge and skills when you work with such an artist? 

HIIO: Of course! Chuckie is one of the biggest names in EDM, but he is a person just like us, and is such a good man, and is very very funny! When we are in the studio, he has good ideas and is very fast working. Sometimes he’s a little bit crazy with synths and stuff, but in the end they sound amazing.

Q). Your track “CUBIC” with John Dish which released recently reached an exceptional 12,000 plays on 24 hours. Could you tell us a little about the track and the process of production followed? 

HIIO: John Dish is a very good friend of ours, and he is a young Colombian producer who is very talented. He wanted to collaborate with us, so he started the project in Colombia and then sent it our way, and we finished it up in our studio in Buenos Aires. From the start, the base was a BOMB! We received amazing attention as we had full support from Fedde Le Grand, as he played it on his Radio Show Dark Light Sessions. Other DJs also included the track in their live sets before the release date.

Q). Tell us a little about how the “scene” is developing in South America? We understand that it is really tough for South American producers to get recognized globally, as Nico also quoted as saying recently? 

HIIO: It’s true that the EDM scene is growing a lot in South America, a lot more in Brazil and Argentina. Why are there so many producers from Europe, USA, Australia and not South America? We don’t even know! – Hahaha. We believe this could be a coincidence for us!

Q). HIIO currently hold residencies at the most prestigious clubs in Argentina – PACHA and Crobar in Buenos Aires just to name a few. Could you tell us a little about how they came about? 

HIIO: In the beginning of 2012 Crobar wanted a new season with progressive house and house music. Nico was a resident at Crobar a few years ago, when he used to play alone. The owner called him directly to invite him back. As for PACHA, our manager is the artistic director of the club, and he booked us there in March, 2012. We got a positive reaction from the people and now we play together 1 or 2 Saturdays each month.

Q). “Something About You” is another track of yours which is soon going to be released and we hope it proves to be an immensely successful release. Could you tell us a little about the track?

HIIO: As we mentioned in the beginning of the interview, this was our first track as HIIO. To be honest it was really difficult to find it a record label, as we had no management at the time. We used to do everything ourselves. We believed in this track and would play is every time we had a commercial gig and the reaction of the crowd always was amazing. We also made a video clip for this track in Buenos Aires because we felt it was so special to us. This is the only track we’ve made one for. It was such a nice experience for us, and a fun 3 days making it.

Q).  Talking about your releases, tell us what it’s like having your tracks get supported by some great producers like Dirty Sout, Roger Sanchez, John Dalback, Otto Knows, Chuckie and more?

HIIO: In the beginning we were surprised to hear that Roger Sanchez made a Bootleg of our track “Loose Control.” Also, seeing it in many of the big name DJ track lists was very rewarding. The same goes with “CUBIC” – When the Fedde Le Grand crew wrote to us asking for the track for his Radio Show, we were very excited to hear this.

Q). Your remix of Chuckie’s track “Who Is Ready To Jump” has been a very successful release and has been played by a few big names and at possibly the biggest festivals. Could we probably call it your biggest track until now?

HIIO: YES SIR!!! The results of that remix were insane. The funny thing is, when Chuckie sent us the parts, we looked at each other and said “What the fuck are we going to do with this crazy man shouting like this?!” Ha Ha Ha!  We guess magic came into the studio after that.

Q). Could you tell us a little bit about “Elements” – Your monthly radio show?

HIIO: We both actually used to have our own monthly podcasts. Ortzy had Blast The Speakers and Nico had Inspirations, each with a good number of listeners. When we formed HIIO, we decided to create a radio show for all of the people who have been supporting our careers up until now, calling it ELEMENTS. We believe it’s the best way to give the fans a gift, and an injection of our music.

Q). As we have now advanced into the New Year, what does 2013 hold for HIIO? Any future releases or collaborations we could expect? 

HIIO: Yes, we have so many bombs coming out in the next 3 months. Some huge collaborations, some commercial stuff and a few Big Room tracks! So stay tuned!

Thank You for the interview! We hope the two of you have a fantastic year ahead!

It’s been a pleasure talking with you, and a big honour to be in The Bangin Beats! Thank You!

- HIIO (Ortzy and Nico Hamuy)

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HIIO Website

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